1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an illuminating device including a plurality of light-emitting elements, and a liquid crystal display including the illuminating device.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recently, liquid crystal displays are required to have high-brightness output characteristics. A liquid crystal display includes a liquid crystal display panel and illuminating device. The liquid crystal display panel has an array substrate, a counter-substrate which is arranged opposite to the array substrate with a gap therebetween, and a liquid crystal layer held therebetween. The array substrate and counter-substrate are adhered to each other by a sealing member provided on the edge portions of the substrates.
The illuminating device has a light guiding plate formed on a back side of a display surface of the liquid crystal display panel, i.e., on an external side of the array substrate, a light source formed on a side edge of the light guiding plate, and a driving circuit which drives the light source. A cold-cathode tube is used as the light source. Recently, however, an illuminating device using a plurality of light-emitting diodes (LEDs) as light sources has been developed as disclosed in, e.g., Jpn. Pat. Appln. KOKAI Publication No. 11-305198.
When a liquid crystal display is required to have high-brightness output characteristics, the brightness output of the display screen must be held at a predetermined level or greater. For this purpose, an illuminating device capable of holding the brightness output of an LED at a predetermined level or greater is required. It is also required to downsize peripheral devices of LEDs forming the illuminating device so as not to spoil the characteristics such as a lightness and slimness of the whole liquid crystal display even when the illuminating device is formed.
The present invention has been made in consideration of the above situation, and has as its object to provide an illuminating device capable of suppressing an increase in product size and obtaining a predetermined brightness level or greater, and a liquid crystal display including the illuminating device.